Bitcoin value triples in a month to all-time high of more than $100

More than $1 billion worth of bitcoins are in digital circulation.

At the end of February, bitcoins hit an all-time trading high of just over $33. That suddenly looks like chump change, with the value of bitcoins today moving past $100.

You can see nearly real-time changes in the value of bitcoins at Coinlab and track the currency's steady rise over the past month at Blockchain. We've seen the value go up and down today, fluctuating between $99 and $105. The new high is remarkable given that bitcoins were only worth about $13.50 at the beginning of this year.

The total value of the nearly 11 million bitcoins in circulation (its "market cap") has also soared past $1 billion, after being at less than $50 million one year ago: